NORRISTOWN – A case of “road rage,” fueled by an argument about a handicapped parking space outside an area store, has a Whitpain man facing a stint behind bars for his menacing, threatening behavior.

Harry Patrick Denno III, 34, of the 2100 block of Whitpain Hills, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 30 days to 23 months in the county jail on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment in connection with the noontime Feb. 19, 2012, incident outside the Giant Food Store in the 1700 block of DeKalb Pike in Whitpain.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who convicted Denno of the charges during a nonjury trial in February, said Denno can serve his minimum sentence over the course of 15 consecutive weekends beginning May 17. The judge, who accepted a sentencing agreement reached between the prosecutor and defense lawyer, said Denno also must complete one year of probation after he’s paroled from jail.

“The defendant and the victim were having a disagreement over who should be able to park in a handicapped space at a supermarket,” alleged Assistant District Attorney Erik Crocker, who sought jail time against Denno. “It was a conflict over how they were using their cars and that to me is still road rage even if it’s not on the actual trafficways.”

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During the trial, prosecutors alleged Denno had a 9mm Glock handgun in a driver’s door storage compartment and made that gun visible to the victim at one point during the argument. “You don’t want any of this,” Denno allegedly stated to the victim, according to the criminal complaint.

“He was terrorized,” Crocker said about the victim, who testified at trial he observed the gun. “Sometimes you get in these conflicts on the road and you never expect it to escalate to that level.”

“I think the biggest factor was the use of the firearm. Two people can argue over parking spaces, over other maneuvers on the road, and people can walk away after a heated exchange. But what happened here was that the defendant, he escalated it to a deadly level by bringing a firearm,” Crocker argued.

Denno, who had a license to carry the firearm, denied ever flashing or exposing the gun in view of the victim and denied making the threatening comment to the victim. Denno, who testified at trial, implied he was not the aggressor during the argument.

Defense lawyer Henry S. Hilles III said Denno has no prior criminal record and has always “prided himself on being a law-abiding, productive member of society.” Hilles said Denno was disappointed about his conviction.

“I think it was clear from the trial that this was a mutual dispute involving the complaining witness and my client over a parking spot. I think it’s fair to say that tempers flared on both sides and there was plenty of responsibility to go around,” Hilles said.

“My client is remorseful for his role in this confrontation and certainly wishes that he had simply driven away from the incident,” Hilles added. “He is determined to make sure that he is never involved in any sort of a road rage type of altercation in the future.”

The judge also ordered Denno to forfeit the Glock handgun to authorities and to complete an anger management counseling program as conditions of the sentence.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police he pulled into a handicapped parking space in front of the Giant store about noon and that Denno pulled behind him.

“Denno told (the victim) that the parking spot was his,” Whitpain Police Officer E. C. Rotondo alleged in the criminal complaint, adding Denno became “irate and physically menacing” when the victim did not move his vehicle. “Denno took off his jacket and threw it on the ground as a sign of aggression towards (the victim).”

The altercation was recorded by parking lot surveillance cameras, according to authorities.

After the initial argument, Denno walked back to his silver Mercedes Benz vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat with the door open and his legs out the door, police alleged. That’s when Denno, according to prosecutors, made the handgun in a driver’s door storage compartment visible to the victim.

The victim told police he feared for his safety, according to court documents.